Oliver & Company Sequel
by WickedlyRita
Summary: Something's happening at the Foxworth's, Rita is keen to find out from Dodger.  I'm still in the process of thinking up a title, this will have to do for now..
1. A Windy Evening

It was a rather windy afternoon, and Rita was out on the streets searching for something to eat that she could bring home to the others. Opportunities had been rather thin on the ground over the past few days and everyone was that bit hungrier than usual. Rita had managed to get her paws on small pieces of food, but nothing substantial enough to feed the whole gang, it was rather frustrating.

As she wandered the city, Rita came to a cafe. While most of the customers were sitting inside out of the way of the cold wind, a couple were sitting outdoors under an umbrella. Rita watched from nearby as the woman got up from the table to retrieve her hat which had been blown from her head, followed by her partner who scrambled to help her retrieve it. The Saluki saw this as the perfect opportunity and rushed in to grab whatever of their lunch that she could. Her attempt to snatch the man's steak was made the more difficult by table cloth which was flapping around in the way of her face.

"OY!" shouted the man, as he turned to see the dog up at the table and came running over, waving his wife's hat. Unable to quickly grab the steak, Rita made a hasty retreat, furious that she'd missed her chance. It had really been one of those days, but she hated to give up when the others had trusted her to find them something to eat, and walked off, trying to stay positive.

For several more hours Rita searched without luck, but as the sky was starting to darken, something caught her eye. A pizza delivery car was parked outside a house, the delivery man had (very unwisely) left the door open as he'd gone up to the house with the family's pizzas. As quietly and quickly as possible, Rita went over to investigate. As the delivery man chatted at the doorway oblivious, Rita slipped into the car, and whilst staying as out of sight as she could, discovered an as yet undelivered pizza. Rita carefully picked the box up in her teeth and manoeuvred herself out of the car. The pizza man turned around as he heard her get out, but by the time he got over it was too late, she was gone. The man swore angrily.

It wasn't all that easy to run through the city with a large, awkward box to carry, but Rita was relieved and happy, so didn't mind a bit. By this time it was quite late and she was keen to get home. As she made her way through the back streets, she felt an unnerving feeling like someone was watching her. She stopped and looked around to see Dodger walking over from behind.

"You're not just a pretty face, huh Rita?" he said, eyeing the box that Rita held in her mouth.

"But of course you already knew that I'm sure." she replied, smiling at him. "I take it you're out late after a busy day of flirting with every woman in New York."

"Nah, what do ya take me for?" Dodger laughed, as Rita raised an eyebrow at him. "I've been 'round to see the kid, there's been a bit of drama over there, so who better to help?"

"Is Oliver alright?" Rita asked, concerned.

"Sure, there's just been a lot happenin' over there today. You can come over with me tomorrow if you want. But don't worry about it, everything's fine."

Rita studied his face carefully, she knew that even if Dodger was worried about something that he'd do his best to make certain no one could tell. Satisfied that Dodger was fine, continued on her way, now walking alongside her friend.

"Ya know," Dodger said with a slight grin, "We _could _sit down somewhere together and have a little bite to eat, just the two of us."

Rita sighed. "Dodge, we've got to get back, I don't think it would go down well if we ate all the food."

"I dunno, I think a good bit of pizza would go down _very _well..."

"You know very well what I meant." She looked back over at him. "How about tomorrow night though?" she asked, feeling hopeful. Trust Dodger to choose an inappropriate time to show any interest in her.

"I say absitively yes." Dodger replied with a characteristically cocky grin.

He took a turn at carrying the box to give Rita a break, as it wasn't the easiest thing to hold comfortably in one's mouth. The two continued on their way, thinking that the others must surely be wondering what was taking them so long.


	2. Back Home

CH 2

When the pair arrived back at the barge, they were met with great enthusiasm and wide eyes.

"Woah, pizza! Nice job, Dodger man!" Tito bounced over, delighted to see that they had something substantial to eat, it had been a few days since the last time.

"Actually, dinner's brought to you today by Rita, I helped carry it home." Dodger told them, thinking he probably shouldn't take the credit.

The others looked slightly surprised and thanked Rita, or at least grunted out sounds that sounded somewhat like 'thank you', they did after all have rather full mouths.

"Make sure you leave some for Fagin." Rita said, noticing that they were going through it all rather quickly, before helping herself to a piece and sitting beside Dodger.

While they talked about the events of the day, Rita noticed that Dodger failed to mention that he'd visited Oliver, and she found this curious. She decided not to think too much of it, and listened to Tito telling them about how he'd almost been swept away in the strong winds.

"That's a pity, maybe next time..." said Francis.

"Watcha mean Frankie?" Tito exclaimed angrily.

"I think you know what I mean, Tito."

"No chance of _you _ever blowing away though, huh Frankie!"

Francis puffed himself up, furious, "It's _Francis _you insignificant and minuscule excuse for a canid!"

"Guys, cut it out, some of us are trying to eat!" Rita snapped.

Francis was in more of a huff when he realised that Einstein had polished off his piece for him while he was preoccupied with his argument with Tito. However, the bulldog was soon cheered up as Fagin came through the door. All five dogs leapt up to greet their master and give him a thorough licking. Fagin was thrilled to see the food that had been brought in, and tucked in as he offered dog biscuits to his canine friends. Although things had obviously improved since Sykes' demise, as the weather was starting to get cooler everyone was feeling their hunger more and Fagin was kept very busy trying to provide for his furry family as much as possible. He was optimistic though, much more so than when Sykes was around.

As the boys gathered around Fagin to listen to a story- a 'new' one which an ecstatic Einstein had found a few days ago, Rita retired to her bed. As the weather was starting to get chilly, she had a scruffy blanket in there for a bit of extra comfort and warmth. She enjoyed having her own space to get away to where she had a little bit of privacy. Her eyelids drooped as she listened to the story, only half paying attention. She found herself thinking about what Dodger had said, and what he hadn't said. _What was it that was going on with Oliver? If nothing was wrong, why hadn't told the rest of the gang?_

Rita found Dodger could be so frustrating sometimes, he was never one to give away more than he wanted to. While Rita understood and saw through Dodger better than most, even she couldn't always tell what was on his mind or what his intentions were. She was looking forward to spending time with him tomorrow, it had been a while since the two of them had spent time together alone. In the time they had known each other Rita had come to love Dodger deeply as a friend or even more, though she had no intention of admitting to the latter, it wouldn't be worth the risk of damaging their friendship.

As Fagin finished the chapter, Dodger headed to bed. Tito and Einstein had fallen asleep on Fagin's lap and Francis at his feet. Rita looked over to see the others had settled down for the night and curled up, her tail covering her muzzle and fell asleep.


End file.
